Western cyclone., 1887-06-10
4 REVOLUTIONARY RELIC.
A Building in Which the First Senate OF
New York State Met.

A Building in Wh1Cn the rIFSb OoAhSO "a
New York State Met.
Earlv in the present week Senator Con-
nelly will introduce bill for the purchase
of the old Senate-house in this place.
writes a Kingston, n. Y correspondent OF
the New York Times The object is to
have the State own and control the build
inc AS kind Of museum Of relics of the
Revolutionary war. The building was
erected in 1916 by Col Vessel Ten Brock.
1t is situated Oh Upper Clinton avenue
The front walls are of stone, two teet
thick. and the back is constructed Of bricks
imported from Holland. The Oaken beams
of the interior appear to be good for many
wears to come. Portions OF the woodWorh
were destroyed by fire when the British
were in the town in 1777. These, however,
were so carefully replaced (by Gen. Arm
strong, afterward Secretary of War under
President Washington } that the loss OF the
original is scarcely noticed. Three years
ago the house was advertised for sale by
Frederick f. Westbrook, but no buyers
appeared. In April, 1885, the house was
finally sold at mortgage sale, the purchaser
being Mitchell Valentine Of New York
CITY. The first Senate Of the State OF
New York met in this building in l777,
and remained in session for several months
until the arrival of the British army.
Upon the walls of the house tablet attests
the fact that the Senate once called this
queer old building its home, Today II
carries these inscriptions:
SENATE HOUSE OF THE STATE OF n: y. In7'
Col. Vessel Ten Brock, born at Westphaha,
1885, erected this stone house about 1876 where
in the Senate Of the State OF n: y was neia 10
the year Of the adoption Of its first Constltu;
ton, 1777. Continued here until the Durnlh8 oI
Kingston, October 10th, l777s
Here" to use the words Of Gen. George
H. Sharpe, the historian OF Kingston, tnC
first Chief Justice of the State, John Jay,
charged the grand jury soon after the Rev
Olution. Here presided Judge BrOckholst
Livingston, Judge Kent. Judge Spencer,
Judge Van Ness, Judge Smith Thompson,
afterward Chief Justice of the State, Sec
retary of the Treasury and Judge OF the
Supreme Court Of the United States. He
was Kent's successor and Nelson's prcde
cessor. Here also were heard those mingled
tones of Dutch and English, the utteranceS
Of Judge Yates, afterwArd Governor of thC
State, of whom it was once apOlOgetiCally
said by bystander that it was easy to un
derstand him when he spoke in the yernaC
ular"
The presence of British troops in New
York, the nominal capital of the State
gave q migratory character to the seat OF
,Government until after the evacuation. The
first Legislature met at Kingston, but ad
journment was had to an old stone building
in Poughkeepsie, now a malthouse, which
is soon to give way to something more
modern. The second Legislature met il
Poughkeepsie, the third returned to Kings
ton, the fourth and sixth again met in
Poughkeepsie, the seventh to tenth. inclu
sive, met in the city hall, New York, the
eleventh met in Poughskeepsie. and it wa.
not till the twelfth Q768) that Albany was
favored in the least. For ten years Longer
the Legislature came together as the two
Houses might agree or the Governor nigh
designate, and then (1768 Albany wa
made the permanent capital.